JetKVM – Control any computer remotely
105 comments
·October 27, 2025neilv
Provenance and trust are relevant for a remote KVM.
But I can't find any information on their Web site about who runs the JetKVM company, not even a partial name or handle of anyone, nor even what country they are in. Which seems odd for how much this product needs to be trusted.
Searching elsewhere, other than the company Web site... Crunchbase for JetKVM shows 2 people, who it says are based in Berlin, and who also share a principal company, BuildJet, which Crunchbase says is based in Estonia. The product reportedly ships from Shenzhen. BuildJet apparently is a YC company, but BuildJet's Web site has very similar lack of info identifying anyone or their location, again despite the high level of trust required for this product.
Are corporate customers who are putting these products into positions of serious trust -- into their CI, and remote access to inside their infrastructure -- doing any kind of vetting? When the official Web sites have zero information about who this is, are the customers getting the information some other way, before purchasing and deploying?
If these people are still running the companies, why aren't they or anyone else mentioned on the company Web sites? That would be helpful first step for trust for corporate use. So its absence is odd.
XiS
This guy on YouTube made several videos reviewing these and also doing some WireShark analysis, also on NanoKVM.
Personally I'd never use these on an interned facing network. But they can still be handy for local only.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yHhdTRVvDFU&pp=0gcJCQYKAYcqIYz...
Y_Y
Estonia is (trying to be) the Delaware of the EU for companies. They make it deliberately convenient for any Europeans to incorporate there, so I wouldn't read much into that.
trenchpilgrim
I think products like JetKVM are targeting hobbyists and small outfits; corporations who aren't on a public cloud are using stuff like idrac, ilo, or dedicated rackmount KVM hardware.
echo7394
IDrac often demands that the PC connecting to it be on the same network however, an rkvm like this let's you skip the pc-in-the-middle step.
trenchpilgrim
Fine for one or two machines, but if you're dealing with a rack or more, an extra machine for management tools is no big deal.
delusional
I don't think this is nearly at the stage of "corporate customers putting into serious trust"
Buildjet (the parent company) looks to be a pretty small company with currently modest revenue[1]. I agree that the absence of people on both webpages is sort of odd. I think it make more sense for their original service (CI workers) than it does for a hardware product.
https://ariregister.rik.ee/eng/company/16075023/Buildjet-O%C...
Joel_Mckay
It does share similarity to a rebranded Sipeed NanoKVM model already sold in China.
Would have to dump the flash with proper tooling, and load up a clean OS on a blank chip to even begin checking for issues. Mostly, these gadgets are purposely built like garbage for a number of reasons.
If I needed a DIY KVM install for a home-theater, I'd just setup a https://pikvm.org/ install. =)
trenchpilgrim
For those prices I could buy an old PC to do out of band management and have half the money left over. The appeal of JetKVM/NanoKVM is they're price competitive with an extra PC for a tiny fraction of the physical and power footprint.
brasizecalc123
[dead]
karolist
I love this little thing. In case someone uses ESRack system, here's the bracket I designed you can print https://www.printables.com/model/1359418-esrack-module-jetkv...
systems
I know this might sound naive but for those of us who had to google
kvm here mean keyboard video and mouse, not the linux kernel-based virtual machine kvm
this device apparently is used to connect to machines remotely over IP
layer8
People familiar with KVM switches have the reverse issue with the Linux kernel thing. ;)
RicoElectrico
Likewise with DRM.
technothrasher
Being a nerdy kid in the 80’s, I can’t see the acronym MCP without thinking, “You’re in trouble program. Why don’t you make it easy on yourself. Who’s your user?”
bigbuppo
Digital Radio Mondiale?
cleech
Classic TCP (TLA [Three Letter Acronym] Collision Problem)
rtkwe
The virtualization KVM is the new kid to the block. Back in the day the best way to get multiple machines controlled was to just have multiple machines sharing the same monitor, keyboard and mouse.
deepsun
I thought that was RDS (remote desktop).
trenchpilgrim
RDP is over network, which doesn't work well if your need to access a machine that doesn't have a working network stack because you're troubleshooting a hardware failure, early boot failure, OS provisioning, etc.
KVM can also be nicer than RDP for certain multi-box workstation setups that need high bandwidth and low latency.
null
GaryBluto
>Join our Discord
Nothing instils faith in a product like using a gaming chatroom populated by tweens for communication.
ahepp
I've been really happy with my JetKVM. The tariff situation is unfortunate, my recollection is that it was something like $50 during the kickstarter (could be wrong, didn't check). Looking around a bit, I'm not sure I see anything remotely as hackable at a competitive price, so maybe $90 is still a great deal.
It would be awesome if they made a PoE version.
542458
> The tariff situation is unfortunate
I wish there was a way of ordering from a non-US source so I didn't get hit. I'm not in the US, so it feels silly that I have to pay the American import tariffs on Chinese goods!
nerdsniper
I believe the $90 is "mostly" without the tariffs - it appears to be the updated post-Kickstarter price (which was $70). The iKoolCore distributor says:
> US Tariff update: There are currently no additional tariffs, but this may change after November 1st. We’ll ship your order promptly to help minimize the risk of tariffs, though we can’t guarantee none will apply.
I am in the USA and the unit I ordered from iKoolCore is being shipped to me from China. I have no idea how much more I might have to pay in tariffs once it arrives to customs, or how I will even go about paying those tariffs.
breput
Just a FYI - many people[0] (including myself) have had serious issues with JetKVM.
In my case, I found it is not compatible with all HDMI sources but others just have unknown "Loading video stream..." issues.
SmellTheGlove
I’ve been using the glinet comet kvm for my homelab and have no complaints. Their cloud is optional and I don’t use it. The built in tailscale client does what I need it to. I use it with their ATX power accessory to manage physical power on/off when needed.
Given that these things have bare metal access, keeping them off of the public internet seems wise no matter what though.
ahepp
It's difficult for me to tell how many of the issues in that thread are serious, because there also seem to be a surprising number of people who come back to say "I solved it by enabling h264 in my browser".
On the other hand there are people who say "I ordered three, two work and one doesn't" which seems like pretty good evidence there can be real issues with the hardware.
nerdsniper
I'm excited to take mine apart soon and figure out why this might be happening for those people.
dang
Related:
JetKVM – Control any computer remotely - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42986909 - Feb 2025 (1 comment)
JetKVM Source - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42553822 - Dec 2024 (1 comment)
JetKVM – Next generation open-source KVM over IP for $69 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42313894 - Dec 2024 (2 comments)
JetKVM: Tiny IP KVM That's Not an Apple Watch - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41957056 - Oct 2024 (14 comments)
somanyphotons
I wish there was a KVM out there that didn't need HDMI, where it sat on PCIe bus and presented a really dumb framebuffer/kb/mouse to the BIOS/OS, but sent it out over the network
nerdsniper
Yeah there are sort of some BMC/IPMI options like [0] but all of the ones I've seen still require some kind of special (generally proprietary) internal connector on the motherboard, which might not be "HDMI" exactly, but still violates the spirit of your requirements.
0: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/accessories-and-software/thin...
nullify88
Something like Intel AMT? Some prosumer motherboards like ASRock Rack have out of band management controllers in them.
nerdsniper
Yes - but a bolt-on solution for nearly any motherboard with an extra PCIe or NVMe slot.
mbreese
I’ve seen raspberry pi based kvms that do just this - draw power from PCI to operate. Except they still usually require a cable to HDMI/USB ports on the computer. I suspect you’d like to have the whole thing to be on card without cables.
Example: https://geekworm.com/collections/pikvm (but I think this still requires separate power)
To do this, wouldn’t you effectively need to make a graphics card (VGA would work) where a separate chip could read the screen buffer? And somehow get this card to display preferentially over the on-board video card?
I’m sure the all in one card version exists, but honestly a cabled version seems more robust (w/o vendor support that is).
fotta
annoyingly, AMT still requires me to have a dummy HDMI dongle plugged in to work
brokensegue
or that just connected over usb and acted as a usb display adapter
spogbiper
afaik usb isn't an option for bios/preboot display. so only useful if the thing is booting up OK enough to run a usb display driver
wtallis
USB-C in DisplayPort Alt mode plus USB 2.0 signalling for the keyboard and mouse inputs is starting to be a pretty common option on consumer systems. Capturing that would allow remote control of a PC including the BIOS using a single cable (though a second cable would still be needed for connecting to a desktop motherboard's header for power and reset buttons).
I think there just aren't as many options for DisplayPort capture chips as for HDMI/DVI capture.
ohnoesjmr
Teradici is that, but too expensive for home users.
nerdsniper
It looks like I can find Teradici card for $50-200 (used to new), which is in a similar range as the JetKVM. However, according to the installation manual that I found [0], you still need to plug in the DisplayPort connector on the Teradici host card to the GPU output port(s).
0: https://anyware.hp.com/web-help/pcoip_remote_workstation_car...
downrightmike
Lights out kvm
karteum
I have happily used nanokvm (https://wiki.sipeed.com/hardware/en/kvm/NanoKVM_Pro/introduc... ).
(N.b. unfortunately the ATX board cannot be ordered independently, so be sure to order the "nanokvm-full" package)
nati0n
PiKVM seems to be the large competitor here and is completely open source. If you're looking into KVM solutions, probably check it out, but JetKVM is over 50% less, which is a huge argument in favor of it.
tripdout
What justifies the V4 Plus being worth $350? They're using the CM4 so they’ve made a PCB, but what hardware are they adding over the peripherals available on a Pi 4/5? All I can tell is an additional Ethernet port, a SIM card tray, and an “ATX controller”.
What does the board look like, why can’t I DIY that version, etc. Are they just trying to make it up with the software (that I also can’t tell what it looks like).
nerdsniper
It's not really worth that much. You absolutely could DIY it, probably just kludge in a basic $30 HDMI capture card. Also JetKVM is now just as "open-source" as PiKVM is, so there's not even a moral high ground to spending extra. Both are open-source software but not open-source hardware (no schematics or gerbers or anything like that available).
NelsonMinar
The JetKVM is very impressive looking at a great price. Until recently it wasn't really available in the US but it looks like it is now/
The V4 Mini is a very nice piece of hardware. I paid $300 for one in April from Amazon. I also got PiKVM running on a Pi Zero 2 W and it worked fine but was a bit squirrely. Having the purpose-built device is nice.
You can also use a Pi Zero 2 W as a serial console: it has a USB On-the-Go port perfect for the purpose. But the KVM approach is more generally useful since you can access a consumer BIOS from it.
iamtedd
They recently opened a global store. Previously, the only way to get one was to "buy" it on kickstarter, presumably from the US as well as the rest of the world.
choilive
I can buy 3 or 4 x JetKVMs for 1 PiKVM, pretty hard to justify going for PiKVM unless there is a PiKVM feature you need
newsclues
Tiny pilot is also an option
mliezun
Was gonna say the same thing, here: https://tinypilotkvm.com/
pythonaut_16
Is it really $400 per host?
Why would one pick a TinyPilot over NanoKVM or JetKVM?
yapyap
JetKVM is over 50% less what?
holysoles
over 50% less the price, I see the JetKVM at $90 USD, but PiKVMs range from $230+.
I found PiKVM useful as I already had the hardware laying around, so setting one up didn't cost me anything, and its a pretty good experience. If I were to buy new though, not sure I'd find it worth the cost for my use case.
gessha
Price.
Greed
I might be missing something, but what does this do that an app like AnyDesk doesn't? Is there something inherently better about remoting in with dedicated hardware rather than using any of the free and widely available software solutions? I can see where this would make sense for low powered machines that can't easily encode video at high speeds / low latency, but I struggle to see the sense of this in a context where I actually want video output (a powerful workstation) rather than just SSH.
layer8
It doesn’t require the OS on the target hardware to be running, and no other software can get in the way. It can also connect via a separate network than the one the computer is on (if any).
woleium
it’s useful to be able to get into the bios for remote support situations of critical servers, I guess
cjm42
I believe the primary use-case for devices like this is debugging "Why isn't this server rebooting?" without driving to the datacenter. Good luck figuring that out with AnyDesk or SSH.
directmusic
As others have said, a full size HDMI port would be nice. However, I've been very satisfied with my JetKVM. I was about to order the GL.iNet KVM they just launched, but I ended up picking up another JetKVM now that sales are open.
My use-case is that I have it connected to an Raspberry Pi which I use to test the RPi builds of my application. I just ordered a second to connect to a mini-PC which is the minimum spec supported by my application. It has made my testing experience very smooth.
Available for retail purchase: https://jetkvm.com/products